Relisations
by Zelda Ophelia
Summary: In the summer after her sixth year, Susan Bones makes a few realisations about her expectations for herself and her future. Repost from LJ. For the femgenficathon.


_I have learned this strange thing, to, about travel: one may return to a place and, quite unexpectedly, meet oneself still lingering there from the last time._ **-- Helen Bevington**

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At the beginning of her fifth year, just days before she was to leave for Hogwarts, Susan Bones found herself in Auntie Amelia's conservatory. Standing beneath the overflowing boughs of the Bones family tree, she made the decision that started her down the path laid out before her by generations long since past. It had begun nearly twenty generations back on her father's side, with old Great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great Grandfather Bones, whose portrait still liked to tell tales of his adventures as a dark wizard hunter (completely unaffiliated with the Ministry, of course, it had apparently all begun when his sister found herself betrothed to a young wizard who ended up not only running off with the ring their family had given him to seal the betrothal with but also, the family learned after he ran off, had a rather disturbing interest in necromancy). Every generation had one, someone who fought against evil and for what was right, and Susan quickly determined that she'd be the one for hers. After all, it wasn't like there were very many other Bones' clamouring for the role. There weren't many other Bones' period. As her mother liked to point out, they all had a tendency to die young, at the hands of dark wizards.

Reaching up, she pulled one of the large dark leaves down to where she could read it. The veining on the leaf wasn't like that of other trees, instead spelling out the names and, on many, a short history of that member of the family. This one was for Great-Great-Auntie Hilda, a Hufflepuff of course, and an Unspeakable in the Department of Mysteries. No one knew exactly what her job entailed, not even the family tree - her leaf was much smaller than the other older leaves - but everyone knew that it had resulted in her death during the war with Grindelwald. Not far from her leaf was that of Aunt Hilda's nephew and Susan's Uncle Edgar, Auror and her father and Auntie Amelia's older brother, murdered with his family during the first war with Voldemort. Auntie Theresa's leaf was next to his, with those of her cousins Bradford, William and Elizabeth, all small and the same dark green as those of family members no longer living. Susan couldn't really remember her aunt, uncle and cousins on her own, but the memories Auntie Amelia shared through her pensieve remained vivid. Scanning the tree she could easily pick out the leaves symbolizing those who had fallen at the hands of dark wizards. And amongst those she could point out, and recite the names of, were all 27 women in the family who had died. There were more women on that tree felled at the hands of dark wizards than men, but for some reason it was Great Uncle Abner and Great-grandfather Bones (as his portrait preferred to be called, saying all those greats made him dizzy) that everyone remembered. It was with these family members in mind that she easily joined the DA, only telling Auntie Amelia over Christmas break that she'd found a way to continue her studies despite that horrible Ministry woman. Her aunt just nodded, telling her to keep her studies up and to not disregard everything Harry Potter said the way certain others wanted everyone to.

No one ever asked Susan to recite those 27 names after they became 28, near the beginning of her sixth year. Instead she spent the remainder of her summer sitting in what had once been Auntie Amelia's conservatory, studying the family tree and learning as much as she could about her family and ancestors. Especially those who died because of their part in the fight against evil. Susan often lingered over the newest name, the leaf most recently turned from the deep green of living family members to the darker green of those passed on. She would continue in Auntie Amelia's memory.

The question of how eluded her, however. While her O.W.L. scores were high enough for her to continue in the Advanced Classes for at least five areas of study, none of those were Potions. And _everyone_ knew that while it was never explicitly stated anywhere that Potions was a required N.E.W.T. for Auror Training, it might as well be a requirement. She had the other four N.E.W.T.s needed, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Transfiguration, Charms and Herbology, but she had barely scrapped by with a **P** in Potions. Even with the new Professor Slughorn accepting students with a score of lower than **O**, she wouldn't be able to follow along enough in the class to acheive the **E** needed on her N.E.W.T. for Auror Training. Instead she signed up for Muggle Studies and Advanced Runes, hoping that if by some small miracle she earned **E**'s in six subjects that she'd qualify. Not that she expected to, you'd have to be Hermione Granger to manage that.

It wasn't as if she didn't still have options. Auror training had been her favourite of those options, but she could still fight evil in other ways. She _had_ been a member of the DA, after all, and that was just one example of a way. She didn't have to be an Auror or even work for the Ministry -- and there were times she wasn't certain she even wanted to work for the Ministry. The summer after her sixth year, after Hannah's leaving school and Dumbledore's death and the rumours of Hogwarts closing, she found herself sitting on the floor in the conservatory yet again, carefully studying the leaflets in front of her. It was embarrassing to admit that she had spent an entire school year moping over doing so poorly in potions, but once she realized that was what she was doing (and, unfortunately, it took Hannah's leaving to realise it) she poured herself into her other options.

Right now Hit Wizard was looking to be the best of her options if she did want to work for the Ministry. The Magical Law Enforcement Squad did just as much as the Aurors did, even if it was the Aurors who got all the fame. And while the requirements were strict, it didn't have the reputation of requiring certain classes the way Auror training did. Or she could become an Unspeakable, like Great-Great-Auntie Hilda - though she had no inkling how one would go about that and she had a feeling it wasn't by just walking into the office and declaring her intent. It probably involved recruitment and being much smarter or braver than she was. There were options if she didn't go into Ministry work. Everyone knew of the various private firms who acted as what Justin called 'watch dogs' for witches and wizards with certain 'interests'. And some areas worried about the state of the Wizarding World due to the war had started their own militias, to protect their citizens from dark magic. It wouldn't be hard at all to become involved in one of those.

Carefully she stood, walking across the tiled floor of the conservatory to where the family tree stood, its many branches a canopy of all shades of green overhead. At the very tip of one branch a small bud was forming, the latest addition that her third cousin Zilpha and her husband Berthold had just announced the week before. It was late-August now, with the little one due in February, and there would be many more additions to that branch, if given the chance. Saying one last goodbye to the family tree, she walked from the conservatory out into the hall where her trunk and bags stood waiting. Her final year at Hogwarts was soon to start, and she knew that while there she'd find a way to continue the family tradition. And to help give the next generation of the Bones family a more peaceful world.


End file.
